CROWNING JEWEL TRAINER’S BIG HOPES
THEY have won Queensland Derbies and raced in a Melbourne Cup together, now the Gold Coast’s Morrisey family hope to add a QTIS Jewel 2YO to their list of wins with Gundaroo Stud.
The partnership between father-son duo John and Scott Morrisey and Gundaroo stretches back decades and a plethora of good horses have filled in the years.
The John Morrisey trained Lachlan River won the 2005 Queensland Derby wearing Gundaroo’s red, yellow and blue silks and ran fifth in the Melbourne Cup
Six years earlier, they won the Derby with Camarena.
The partners will have two-year-old gelding Safework jump from barrier six in today’s $500,000 Jewel 2YO, with jockey Brad Stewart confirmed for the ride.
Scott Morrisey, 45, said it added another chapter to their fruitful connection to Gundaroo Stud and its manager Len Hoyle.
“We have been training for Gundaroo for a long time now,” Morrisey said of the stud based at Murrumbateman near Canberra.
“They are very loyal and good people. Len has stuck solid over the years so it would be nice to get another good horse for him. Fingers crossed Safework is the one.
“Len is such a good bloke and I don’t think he or Dad have ever had a disagreement. They are good mates.
“He has always been happy with where he is and we have always been happy to train his horses.”
Gundaroo Stud provide the Morrisey stable with a budget each year for yearling sales and Safework’s $110,000 price tag at last year’s Magic Millions auction was about the average they spend.
John Morrisey, 71, hasn’t returned to training since his suspension was lifted at the end of 2018.
The respected horseman was originally banned for nine months after being found guilty of a cobalt offence in 2016 and twice appealed against the penalty during a drawn out process.
He has publicly said he had no desire to train again after the “greatest injustice” in racing but his love for horses hasn’t been lost.
John is the first to arrive at the Bundall stables at 2.30am each day and the last to leave. “I’m there and Gundaroo is there, so he still has an interest in it,” Scott Morrisey said.
“Whether that is forever or not, time will tell. He doesn’t say much and keeps a lot to himself but we still throw ideas around.”
Safework, a $51 chance today, is yet to win a race from five starts. Most recently he finished third behind Roth fire at Doomben on February 29 after getting back and finishing strongly.
Brisbane trainer Robert Heathcote’s Roth fire is the clear $1.10 favourite for the Jewel but Morrisey has warned rivals not to rule out his gelding, detailing an extensive run of poor luck from a horse who has shown a lot.
The stable attempted to forge a path to January’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic by dodging the best.
It landed Safework in a 1200m race second-up and it proved a touch too far so early. He came back to 1000m and ran fifth in a what Morrisey said was “one of the hottest races leading up to the carnival”.
It left Safework running in the two-year-old race a week out from the Classic where he copped interference from Wisdom of Water and Verbal Assault.
Last start Morrisey said Safework got too far back and relaxed too much and found himself in trouble.
“He is a nice horse and I still think he should have won the week before the Magic Millions. I think he was a good thing beaten there,” Morrisey said.
“I’m not saying he would have done anything in the Magic Millions Classic but we have been a bit unlucky with the horse so hopefully we can have a bit of luck (today).”
So what racing pattern does he need to have a crack at a win?
“He is best ridden just off the speed but he has been drawing a bit awkward,” Morrisey said.
“He needs to draw a gate and stay out of trouble in the first furlong. He would run a nice race if that is the case.
“If Rothfire wins it will be great for Queensland racing but I won’t be disappointed if I knock him off.”